Kansas’ Landen Lucas Is 23, Older Than Most NBA Rookies

At Kentucky, that other storied blue-hued college hoops program you’re gonna pick in your March Madness bracket, the style is one-and-done — that is, the best high school players in the country show up, try to win a title, and head off to the NBA after freshman year when they’re NBA-eligible. Kansas isn’t too different — a top-tier program that feeds the NBA stars like Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins.

But 6’10” Kansas center/forward Landen Lucas is different. The senior is 23 years old, making him two years older than Karl Anthony-Towns, last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year. (Anthony-Towns, you guessed it, played one year at Kentucky.) And he’s still older than fellow Jayhawk Andrew Wiggins, who won top NBA Rookie the year before Anthony-Towns. Lucas got a later start than some, spending his early life in Japan while his dad played pro ball there. He attended three different high schools, two in Oregon with a stop at Findlay Prep in Nevada in between. Then he red-shirted his first year in Lawrence. He’s said by Kansas staffers and teammates to be mature in not just age, but outlook and basketball IQ. Kansas, ranked #3 in the country, takes on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech on January 7 at 7:15 EST on ESPN2.